ESRD Ecosystem

Objective

To define the current state end-stage renal disease (ESRD) ecosystem of people, process, and systems and represent this understanding of each so teams can be better equipped to identify and solve the right problems more efficiently.

Problem

CMS CCSQ product and program teams had been so focused on their immediate work that they did not understand how their work influences and is influenced by people, systems, policy, and process that may or may not be something they can control. This lack of a shared understanding impacted the efficacy of product work. Some of the symptoms of this problem included:

• Stakeholders were unaware of the overall architecture of the ecosystem and the connections within it.
• Broken communication, not knowing where to go/what resources and services exist
• Stakeholders were unaware of the magnitude of the problem as we also do not understand the full picture
• Stakeholders only had a partial myopic "inside-out" view, but needed to gain a holistic customer-centric view

Solution

The goals of this project include:

• EQRS stakeholders reach consensus about the people, process, policy, and systems that define the ecosystem
• EQRS communication is more effective across groups
• An artifact is created as a starting point to visualize the defined ecosystem
• Stakeholders gain a customer-centric view of this ecosystem
• Stakeholders leverage this viewpoint to identify customer needs and pain points and use human-centered design methods and activities to drive innovative solutions

Lessons Learned